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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22719712">The Falling of a Noble</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bowser_Sourpuss_Bread/pseuds/Bowser_Sourpuss_Bread'>Bowser_Sourpuss_Bread</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Tales From The Garreg Mach School of Peace: My Three Houses Modern AU [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dorothea has the brain cell in the roommate pair, Ferdie and Lorenz are nerds who use their full names as terms of affection, Lorenz has trouble acting noble when he's worried, M/M, Seteth drives the mom-van, Sickfic, Too bad Lorenz doesn't have a roommate then</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 15:41:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,720</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22719712</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bowser_Sourpuss_Bread/pseuds/Bowser_Sourpuss_Bread</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>They were content to take things slow, but when Ferdinand gets sick...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ferdinand von Aegir/Lorenz Hellman Gloucester</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Tales From The Garreg Mach School of Peace: My Three Houses Modern AU [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1629751</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>37</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Falling of a Noble</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Happy Valentine's Day! Regardless of how you spend it, may this rarepair (Which I hope will become increasingly not rare!) fill you with warm fuzzies! ^^</p><p>Also, I just wanna note that Claude calls Lorenz "Mayo" as a reference to Hellmann's mayonnaise! He fancies himself funnier than he actually is, sometimes.... &gt;_&gt;</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Ferdinand von Aegir felt </span>
  <em>
    <span>awful</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine</span>
  </em>
  <span> the day before! But today… decidedly not. And it </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be today…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He </span>
  <em>
    <span>thought</span>
  </em>
  <span> he was keeping it together, but apparently not. “Oh, Ferdie…” his roommate, Dorothea, tutted. “I know it’s you and Lorenz’s one-year anniversary, but you really shouldn’t go out. You look </span>
  <em>
    <span>awful</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>By now, Ferdinand knew that Dorothea was way smarter than him, but he had one thing she didn’t: a relationship. “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he told her. And, wow, if he </span>
  <em>
    <span>were</span>
  </em>
  <span> the lying type, the state of his voice would have betrayed him right away. “But I can’t stay in. I’ll go out to the fancy tea place with Lorenz, and then I’ll come right back here and sleep.” The young man coughed: a deep thing that made his throat </span>
  <em>
    <span>burn</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dorothea made a face. Perhaps she realized that, as his roommate, she was almost doomed to illness herself. “If you cough like that at the fancy tea place, they’ll kill you.” She considered, then added, “And if you were anyone else coughing like that near him, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Lorenz</span>
  </em>
  <span> would kill you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At the mention of his boyfriend, Ferdinand couldn’t help but smile. “It’s just a cold,” he reassured his friend. And he genuinely believed it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dorothea, however, as always, was smarter. “I don’t think so.” Her hand hovered by his face. Ferdinand blinked slowly. “May I?” Ferdinand had no idea what she was talking about, but he consented.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ferdie, that’s quite a fever. Colds don’t usually have fevers.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Usually</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” It had planned to be a clever comeback, but it came out as a pathetic croak. Dorothea furrowed her brow. Hating to see his friend look so </span>
  <em>
    <span>worried</span>
  </em>
  <span>, the young noble got out of bed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was easier said than done. His body hurt, and he was suddenly so tired although he </span>
  <em>
    <span>planned</span>
  </em>
  <span> for the anniversary breakfast by going to bed </span>
  <em>
    <span>early</span>
  </em>
  <span> and taking a shower the night </span>
  <em>
    <span>before</span>
  </em>
  <span>! But he was up! Dorothea, though, still didn’t look convinced. “Ferdie, colds don’t usually cause people to… What’s the word..? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Wilt</span>
  </em>
  <span>. When standing.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It won’t be long.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You always say that, but between you and Lorenz, you two can take forever to talk about </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” He weakly shuffled into the walk-in closet, where he had lovingly prepared the equally fancy outfit. His roommate’s voice filtered in through the closed door. “Although maybe if you’re not talking, you might be right.” He came out of the closet. “...Wow. Because that looks so </span>
  <em>
    <span>good</span>
  </em>
  <span>, you look even </span>
  <em>
    <span>worse</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That made Ferdinand von Aegir feel good. He would soon feel worse.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Lorenz Hellman Gloucester was excited.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His partner had taken him to such an informative tea class for their half-year anniversary, so six months later, he was determined to top him. They were both competitive people.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They also both loved tea, and he had discovered the shop as a high-class haven in the town of Garreg Mach. Truthfully, he had wanted to take several people with him, but while Lorenz had other friends who also liked tea, no one else was quite… up to par.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But maybe once he took Ferdinand, he would have the courage to take someone else. Lorenz cared very much about his image, but he knew that the tea shop’s image could be </span>
  <em>
    <span>improved</span>
  </em>
  <span> by allowing more people to go there. As Ferdinand had taught him, nobility was a state of mind!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lorenz still didn’t know </span>
  <em>
    <span>why</span>
  </em>
  <span> he had never been assigned a roommate, but the ribbing he would have received from them was happily given by his housemates. If there was anything The Golden Deer loved above anything else, it was ribbing each other.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Claude whistled. “Mayo is out to take the town!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The </span>
  <em>
    <span>Victorian</span>
  </em>
  <span> town,” Lysithea added.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He nodded at Lysithea. “This outfit </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> designed by someone with an eye for historical detail. Thank you for noticing.” He didn’t feel the need to be polite to Claude. “And when was the last time </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> went out?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lysithea harrumphed. She was usually defeated by compliments. Claude, on the other hand, was incorrigible, ruffling his hair and trying to slip a jar of mayonnaise (Hellmann’s, because Claude wasn’t nearly as funny as he thought was) in his purse. Lorenz let him. He dropped it off in front of Ignatz and Raphael’s room. With luck, Raphael would polish off the evidence, and Claude would be none the wiser.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But Lorenz Hellman Gloucester was just satisfied with his luck of having such an excellent partner.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Ferdinand von Aegir’s head was </span>
  <em>
    <span>pounding</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But he kept focused on his objective, and he spotted the purple bowl cut in The Garden of Unity, between the three houses. It was fall, so it wasn’t at its most magnificent splendor, but Dedue dutifully maintained both it and the greenhouse.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lorenz was prepared with flowers regardless of the season, though, already equipped with a red rose corsage. After his customary greetings, he plucked a tiger lily from behind his back and started pinning it to him. If Ferdinand remembered from his lessons from his boyfriend about the language of flowers, tiger lillies symbolized wealth and pride. From what Lorenz had told him about the venue they were headed to, it seemed an appropriate choice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At that moment, though, what Ferdinand really wanted was a flower for good health. He hoped that Lorenz couldn’t feel any unnatural heat spilling off of him. Dorothea had said he had a fever, but he felt so </span>
  <em>
    <span>cold</span>
  </em>
  <span>. There were shivers racing up his spine. But it was fine. He trained his gaze on Lorenz’s red rose. Love. Respect.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He respected Lorenz; he couldn’t just </span>
  <em>
    <span>abandon</span>
  </em>
  <span> him to slink off to bed. Love would give him the power to persevere.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His head </span>
  <em>
    <span>throbbed</span>
  </em>
  <span> when Lorenz announced that he wanted to walk to the tea shop, citing the beautiful seasonal foliage, but maybe the fresh air would help…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ferdinand von Aegir would never get to see the tea shop.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Lorenz Hellman Gloucester noticed that his partner was being quiet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But he was so excited, so he wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>thinking</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Ferdinand was a sensitive soul, much like himself. He was absorbing his surroundings. He was deliberating topics for over tea. He was planning counters to discussions that were still open from last time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He</span>
  </em>
  <span> was insensitive. The young noble took the lead over his Adrestian counterpart, extolling about the tea shop’s usage of floral decoration. It was like having tea in an enchanted garden, he said, as the walk signal glowed. He was chiding about how it would be a great opportunity to test his partner’s recall of his lessons about flower language when Lorenz heard something fall.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked behind him, assuming something had fallen out of his purse. But his blood ran cold when he realized that it was not some</span>
  <em>
    <span>thing</span>
  </em>
  <span> that had fallen but some</span>
  <em>
    <span>one</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ferdinand von Aegir, the most noble man Lorenz Hellman Gloucester had ever known, the first who made him see what nobility truly was, was lying on the crosswalk, face down, blood oozing from his forehead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>An inhuman scream ripped out of the young noble. Only once he had laid him on his side, away from the cacophony of honking horns, on the sidewalk, did Lorenz register that he had called his partner’s name. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ferdinand</span>
  </em>
  <span>!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The cut was from the asphalt. It didn’t look too deep, but it was bleeding a lot. Lorenz dug into his purse, taking out his collection of (clean) handkerchiefs. As he pressed into the wound to try to stem the bleeding, he felt something else: heat. As he replaced one bloody handkerchief with a clean one, he took a moment to feel with his bare hands. Yes. Heat. He felt a spike of panic as the second handkerchief started to soak with blood. Could it be that the wound was infected already? Was there asphalt lodged somewhere inside his partner’s skull? “Ferdinand…” Lorenz whimpered. “Wake up…” He didn’t. Lorenz called for emergency services.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lorenz Hellman Gloucester felt helpless.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Ferdinand von Aegir felt awful</span>
  <em>
    <span>er</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dorothea knew not to have </span>
  <em>
    <span>light</span>
  </em>
  <span> so </span>
  <em>
    <span>early</span>
  </em>
  <span> in the </span>
  <em>
    <span>morning</span>
  </em>
  <span>! It was cruel and unusual punishment! He groaned, raising an achy arm to his forehead to try to shield his eyes. He felt… bandages? And then he felt hands on his. He cracked open an eye.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lorenz Hellman Gloucester, the most noble man Ferdinand von Aegir had ever known, the first who made him see what nobility truly was, was staring at him with puffy, red eyes and snot oozing out of his nose.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“-enz?” His throat felt like </span>
  <em>
    <span>sandpaper</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His boyfriend hushed him gently, but Ferdinand felt the need to do the same because tears came spilling out of him again as he struggled to explain. “You fell when we were crossing the street and I didn’t notice and I looked back and you were bleeding and it didn’t stop and I felt your head and there was blood and heat and I couldn’t wake you up and I was so scared-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The door opened. A doctor came in. Ferdinand tried to look presentable. To not do so just seemed rude. The doctor explained that he wanted to do some tests and requested that Lorenz leave the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lorenz didn’t like that. “I can’t just leave him!” the young man roared. “He just woke up, and I think his fever has gotten higher. I don’t think you’re taking this seriously enough! Do you know who I am? Do you know who </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> is!?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ferdinand rasped what he hoped was understood as an apology, but luckily, it seemed like the doctor wasn’t fazed. “Yes. We will check that. That’s subjective. Yes. Yes.” Then… “If you can not be respectful, then I must request that you leave. I am certain that a young man of his status has plenty of contacts, including some who </span>
  <em>
    <span>can</span>
  </em>
  <span> be respectful in a medical setting.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lorenz looked so </span>
  <em>
    <span>scared</span>
  </em>
  <span> that Ferdinand just wanted to hold him, so he could hear his heartbeat. He was alive. He would be OK. He was sorry that he’d worried him so much- He wanted to say all these things, but instead, all that came out of his mouth was that </span>
  <em>
    <span>cough</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lorenz looked so scared, but he was more scared of being unable to stay with his partner. He left without any further resistance. “Well, then, Mister von Aegir,” the doctor said. “Shall we begin?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He asked him about his symptoms. He checked his eyes and his breathing. He confirmed that while his fever had gotten higher, it wasn’t within a concerning range for the flu- Yes, that was it. The flu. And a head wound that was more scary than it looked. Maybe a mild concussion, but probably just the flu.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We put you on IV fluids while you were unconscious just in case, but tell me, Mister von Aegir, have you tried to eat anything since you got sick?” The young noble shook his head. “I would like you to attempt that while you are here, but you attend the Garreg Mach School of Peace, correct?” He nodded weakly. “I already told your…” The doctor smiled. “...</span>
  <em>
    <span>companion</span>
  </em>
  <span> this, but unless if something goes terribly wrong, I think I will discharge you to Manuela Casagranda’s infirmary.” As the man explained that he went to medical school with her, Ferdinand realized that this doctor, like most people, were much nicer if you were nice first.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The doctor left, saying that he would send in food soon. Lorenz entered soon afterwards. “I must apologize for my behavior!” he exclaimed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ferdinand closed his eyes, hoping it would ease his headache. It did but only a little. As he felt Lorenz’s fingers ghost over the bandage on his head, he reached for his boyfriend’s other hand blindly. He found it. Eventually. “You were scared,” he murmured. “I’m not angry.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re not the one who </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> angry…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then apologize-” He coughed. He tried to cover his mouth with his free hand. He told himself that he succeeded. “-Yeah,” he croaked. Lorenz was smart. He would understand what to do.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I will apologize to the doctor, Ferdinand, but I also feel like I need to apologize to you. I should have noticed that you were not well.” A mirthless laugh. “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> notice that you were quiet. And I should have known better because… Because… I love you, Ferdinand von Aegir.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ferdinand’s eyes flew open. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> to make sure he hadn’t dreamt it. He still wasn’t sure, even as Lorenz’s lips quirked into a sad smile. “Forgive me if I’m…” A cough swallowed the next few words, but he soldiered on. “But I think that’s the first time you’ve said that.” The fever swallowed the pretty words, but he pushed through. “With your words.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It is.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well, Ferdinand refused to be outdone. “I love you, Lorenz Hellman Gloucester.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ferdinand decided that his new favorite sound was the shy giggle Lorenz made at his statement. It wasn’t one of denial or disbelief. Just… happiness. “I know we’ve been doing things slowly, and we’ve checked in many times, and we’re happy with that, but… Now… I would like to go a little faster.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was the fever that made Ferdinand’s cheeks burn. ...No. Ferdinand was an honest man. He swallowed thickly. “Me too.” He seized the initiative. “I would like you to kiss me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lorenz blinked owlishly. “Ferdinand, you are still ill. I may have received my flu shot earlier in the season than you, but the flu is still highly contagious.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” Ferdinand </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew</span>
  </em>
  <span> that, he really did, but between his heart and his head, his brain was cooking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A wry smile on his boyfriend’s lips: Ferdinand’s favorite sight. “But I am nothing if not a noble, and diplomacy is a noble ideal. I shall make a compromise.” He kissed him on the forehead. Ferdinand saw stars, above a Fodlan at peace.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ooh, forehead kisses, so sexy! Get it, Mayo!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lorenz whipped around. “Shut up, Claude!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ferdinand von Aegir gave thanks to the goddess for his friends and for the man who was more than that.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Lorenz Hellman Gloucester’s arm was asleep, and that was fine.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ferdinand was discharged from the hospital, under the condition that he be sent immediately to the infirmary. He had forgotten that he sent an @everyone to the school Discord when the doctor told him that that would most likely be the case, just as he had done when they had taken Ferdinand into the back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seteth came in with the school, as Claude put it, “mom-van.” Lorenz thought that perhaps it would have been more appropriate to have </span>
  <em>
    <span>Manuela</span>
  </em>
  <span> driving it, since they were going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span> infirmary, but he did not blame her for not having the patience to drive with Claude, Edelgard, and Dorothea, intent on providing “moral support.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To be fair, some of them did. Seteth, as always, was a respectful man: an oasis of calm. And while Claude ribbed at him, that was The Golden Deer way, and he soon went about making jokes at his own expense to cheer him and Ferdinand up. Dorothea, too, was helpful. After getting the yelling at Ferdinand for being an </span>
  <em>
    <span>idiot</span>
  </em>
  <span> for </span>
  <em>
    <span>not saying anything</span>
  </em>
  <span> out of her system, (something Lorenz himself had been tempted to do, if not for the fact that he had genuinely believed that the light of his life was going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>die</span>
  </em>
  <span> for </span>
  <em>
    <span>far too long</span>
  </em>
  <span>) she started talking about those shallow pop singers and about how they, too, had the mistake of putting their love (for the music?) before their health. Ferdinand appreciated the comparison. (Lorenz did not, but that was neither here nor there.) Edelgard, though, looked terribly out-of-place, especially since Hubert was not with her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Still, since Ferdinand was sleeping now, it was ideal that she was the one next to him. She knew how to be quiet. Sure, she </span>
  <em>
    <span>fit</span>
  </em>
  <span> in the middle seat better, but Seteth had the good sense to only put one person next to Ferdinand. He was still ill.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So here he was. In the middle seat. A sick man drooling against his shoulder in slumber. Once, he would have said that this was a fall from nobility.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But if that meant that he couldn’t have this family beside him, Lorenz Hellman Gloucester didn’t want to be a noble.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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